Undergarment



F. J. LEWIS UNDERGARMENT Dgc. 30, 1930..

Filed Aug. 23. 1928 luvsn'rm, Fins J. Law/.5,

J W52 YW Fatented Dec. 30, 1939 OFFICE FRED 3'. LEWIS, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA,.ASSIGNOR TO MCLOUGI-ILIN- MANUFAC- TUBING COMPAN Y, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA UN DERGARMENT Application filed August 23, 1928. Serial No. 301,457.

This invention relates to underwear, and has for 1ts prlmary ob ect the cutting and formingof the waist to give the utmost com- ,fort to the wearer particularly in that the waist is reduced to the minimum covering area and yet is so formed and attached to the remainder of the garment as to prevent the supporting shoulder straps from sliding or working off the shoulders of the wearer. Among the other objects of the invention are the provision of an undergarmentwhich is exceedingly light in Weight; the formation of the waist of a garment in such manner as to efiect an enomomy of material; and the provision of a garment wherein the waist is formed to cover a relatively small portion of the wearers body, but at the same time is efiectively' and permanently secured to a waist-band, trousers member, or other low.

er portion thereof.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter. I

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be. exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a garment embodying my invention;

Fig. 2, a rear elevation of the Fig. 3, a side elevation; and Fig. 4;, a developed top plan view of the waist of the garment.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

The lower portion of the exemplified garment is formed in the usual manner with legs 5 and 6, a formed seat 7, and a drop flap 8. In the present instance, a belt 9 of non-yielding material is secured at the upper end of the trousers portion thus provided.

The waist or upper portion of the garment garment is formed as is indicated in Fig. 1 with the two front straps 10 and 11, the two rear straps 12 and 18, the rear straps being connected to the front straps by means of a tie strap 14:, which serves to unite these members and to prevent the waist portion from slipping off the shoulders of the wearer.

The lower or outer ends of the straps 10. 11, and 12, 13, are each flared out laterally to form bases 15, 16, 17, and 18, whereby they may be secured to a lower or encircling portion such as exemplified by thebelt 9. In order that the straps may be secured as firmly as possible to the belt 9, or other lower member, without unnecessarily covering the body of the wearer, and in order that the entire garment, and particularly the waist, maybe given the maximum strength consistent with the exposure of the'greater portion of the upper part of the wearers body, the straps are rapidly flared laterally to an extent such that their lower or outer edges have a combined length substantially equal to the circumference of the belt 9, and the garmentis formed with these outer edges meeting one another on the line where the portions 15, 16, 17 and 18 join the belt 9. In the construction thus provided, the front, rear and side openings come to a point adjacent the belt 9. hen spread out as in Fig. 4, the waist forms a letter H, with the cross bar or tie strap 14: above the center so that it will be positioned across the upper back of the waist when assembled with the lower portion of the garment. As will be seen, the exemplified garment isformed with a front opening through which the legs and hips of the wearer may be passed in putting on the garment, and which serves to leave exposed the entire neck and the greater portion of the front of the wearers body. I The garment is also formed with open-. ings between the straps 10 and 12, and 11 and 13, respectively, which serve to leaveexposed the greater portion of the sides ofthe wearers body, and a r ar opening which leaves exposed much of the wearers back. The garment does not circumferentially enclose the,

wearer at any point above the belt 9.

The strap 1% is comparatively narrow and resembles the letter I turned sidewise, and has its ends elongated to be sewed to the ends of the respective straps 10, 11, and 12,13. Thus the strap 10, the left-hand arm (Fig. 4:) of the I-shaped strap 14 and tie strap 12 form one shoulder strap of the garment; and the strap 11, the right-hand arm of the I-shaped strap, and the strap 13 form the other shoulder strap thereof. By a construction such as exemplified, wherein the cross strap is interposed between the front and-rear straps, considerable economy of'material is'efiectuated; since the front and rear straps may be laid out on, and out from, a piece of material, with the wide outer end of one strap contiguous to the narrow inner end of another, thereby reducing waste materialto a minimum.

As will be seen from the drawings the waist is hemmed by four rows of stitching, indicated at 20, 21, 22and 23, one defining the front opening, one defining the rear opening, and the othertwo defining the side openings. Besides hemming the edges of these openings, these stitches serve the purpose of reinforcing the connections between the front and rear straps and the cross-strap, and serve to prevent tearing at the points of connection. It will be noted that by the peculiar formation of the strap bases, the bases serve to assist in preventing the straps from slip ping sidewise onthe shoulders of the wearer and at the same time give a long connection of the straps with the belt 9, whereby a sturdy structure is provided but very little material is utilized in the waist to give the least possible coverage of the wearer. Since certain changes may be made in the above article and different embodiments ofthe invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. i

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim: 7

1. An undergarment, comprising a laterally disposed I-shaped portion having divergent arms at each of-its ends, a pair of straps extending from the arms of the I-shaped portionat one side thereof, a pair of relatively shorter straps extending from the arms of the I-shaped portion at the other side thereof, and an encircling portion to which the lower ends of said straps are secured.

2. An undergarments, comprising a crossstrap adapted to extend across the wearers back; longitudinal strapsextending in opposite directions from eachend of the crossstrap. the cross strap and the longitudinal straps being formed of separate pieces of material, and a line of stitching extending along the inner edge of one of said longitudinal straps, along the adjacent edge of the crossstrap, 'andalong the inner edge of a longitudinal strap at the other end of the crossstrap; a line of stitching extending along the outer edge of the last mentioned longitudinal strap, the adjacent outer edge of the crossstrap, and the outer edge of the longitudinal strap extending in an opposite direction from the same end of the cross-strap, a line of stitching extending along the inner edge of the last mentioned longitudinal strap, the adjacent edge of the cross-strap and the inner edge of the remaining strap, and a line of stitching extending along the outer edge of the last mentioned strap, the outer edge of the cross-strap and the outer edge of the first mentioned longitudinal strap, said lines of stitching extending across the lines of connection of said cross-strap with said longitudinal straps and serving to reinforce the connections between the straps. I

3. A union suit, comprising a trousers portion formed to provide a portion encircling the body of the wearer directly above the hips, and a waist portion formed of a pair of shoulder straps, each having flared lower ends attached to said encircling portionand being rapidly narrowed from their lower ends upwardly, and a cross strap arranged to retain said shoulder straps on the shoulders of said wearer, each of said shoulder-straps being formed of front and rear sections united through the medium of one end of the. cross strap interposed therebetween, each of said front and rear sections and said cross-strap being independent pieces of material, whereby unnecessary waste in cutting the garment is avoided.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature FRED J. LEWIS. 

